Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Pescara 0, Milan 4: Are We There Yet?

I never like routs. Except when my team are teetering on the
verge of losing their Champions League qualification. Then I love them. Just so
long as they are in my team’s favor. Which this was. So I loved this game. With
so much pressure coming down to the final stretch, four unanswered goals will
be better than Ambien to help me sleep tonight.

For me, that Milan played well today is as important as the
result, especially to prepare for these last two games. Confidently, with the result never in question, as it should be when
you’re facing the team that is two losses away from the worst season ever played in Serie A. But Milan haven’t always played that well against the
minnows (or even the dolphins) in this campaign. So it was refreshing to see a
starting lineup missing some key players take control and never really lose it.
And it was nice to see Abbiati getting so much rest ahead of our last two
matches, too.

The domination began with a warning shot off the crossbar by
Balotelli in the 2nd minute. Then Nocerino earned his keep in the 9th by
getting fouled just inside the box in the 9th. Penalty Milan. Balotelli stepped
up and kept his perfect penalty record. 1-0 Milan. Rizzo then earned the only
yellow card of the match, even if he should have perhaps also seen another.

11 goals in 11 games. No wonder he's called Super Mario.

Niang was slipping and falling everywhere, eventually he’d
switch his boots and that seemed to do the trick. In fact, in the 23rd, after
he’d come back on he had a very dangerous shot that was just wide. Sculli was
the only player who came close to challenging Milan’s defense, but even still
for the whole match, Pescara only took 3 shots, with zero on target. But it was
in the 32nd minute, on a play from a corner even, that Robinho put a pass in
and Muntari, not marked at all, put the ball into the net. 2-0 Milan.

Niang... the little engine that... almost

Flamini got the second half started by scoring on another
assist by Robinho in the 51st. 3-0 Milan. And to keep the goals flowing, he
assisted Balotelli’s goal in the 57th, 4-0 Milan. From there, Allegri started
with the rare early subs: Traoré came on for Flamini in the 59th. Then Pazzini
on for Niang in the 63rd. He started shooting early and often, forcing a save
by Perin in the 69th. Then El Shaarawy came on in the 73rd for Robinho, who
looked like those two assists took everything out of him. El Shaarawy also
started shooting, with a great chance to score on his good friend Perin in the
74th. There were some fouls by Pescara, including the aforementioned
foul-that-really-should-have-been-a-yellow on El Shaarawy by Rizzo, but no call.
And El Shaarawy and Pazzini would keep shooting, but would end up goalless for
their efforts.

Not an intense match by any means, but that was fine by me.
I commend Allegri for starting a lineup that allowed some key players some
rest. At the same time, I condemn him for not giving some younger players a run
out. Both Cristante and De Sciglio were on the bench, and if you’re up 4-0, why
risk Pazzini and El Shaarawy to injury? Why would we need more goals? But
that’s okay. Three points are what we needed most. I can stress out about
Allegri after the Siena match, when he has promised to discuss his future.

Galliani's scoring machine. Four goals in a month, more than in his past four years.

As for Champions League Qualification, are we there yet? Napoli won today, mathematically securing second place and their Champions League group stage, too. With Fiorentina winning their derby today against Siena, we still have to find
three more points to secure third place. We have the capacity to win against both Roma and Siena, but
will we pull it off? Allegri has a habit of both starting and finishing the
season poorly, and is known to come up with some wacky lineups and subs in
clutch situations. Likewise, our boys have a habit of going missing or choking
hard when the going gets tough. So everyone will have to bet focused and hungry
if we are going to secure our berth on Sunday. Because it would be a shame to
still be asking ourselves after Sunday, “Are we there yet?”

This post inspired by the music of
Oasis

Our next match is

Milan vs. Roma

Sunday, May 12 • 20:45 CEST (2:45 EDT)

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